New member with 2008 Silver Wing

Hi folks! Just picked up a 2008 Silver Wing with 13.5K miles.

It's a little different from my other bike (a 2009 Buell Ulysses) but I am already enjoying it.

The maintenance history is not clear so I am planning to change the engine and final drive oil, oil filter, spark plugs, and drive belt. Brakes and coolant look OK so I won't mess with those.

The seat strut is worn out.  I'll probably go with the 1" PVC pipe fix I read about on here.

The bike vibrates a bit under acceleration so I ordered 26g Dr Pulleys (after reading many useful posts here) and plan to install those when I swap out the drive belt.

I'm a bit leery of tackling the valve clearance check as a DIY.  I'll probably take it to the dealer for that before any longer trips (just planning to use it for commuting for now).

I live in SE Wisconsin (Lake Mills).

Thanks for having me!
-Mikko

Hi Mikko and Welcome to the BEST SWing forum in the Universe. At least nobody from any other planet has told me different.
I also have a 2008 SWing that I had triked out about 5 years ago with no regrets. It's a Motor Trike GT-3 Kit.

Hello Mikko. Welcome to the forum.

Regarding your valve clearance concerns. I have been an active participant in various Silverwing forums since 2003 and have probably only seen mention of anyone checking valve clearances 3 times. And have never heard of anyone needing their valves adjusted. A ”valve check” is just a money maker for the dealer. So keep up with oil changes and traditional maintenance and enjoy your new scoot.

Just twist, go & smile

Hi Mikko, Like Tim said, I've got 36 + thousand miles on my 2008 SWing and have never adjusted the valves. It runs great.
As far as the vibration under acceleration goes. Mine did that after I got it home and TLCd it to get it running. I read a post about holding the brakes hard and run the tack up to around 4K for about 5-6 seconds. That "burns" any glazing off the clutch that might be there from sitting etc. I only had to do it once and haven't had any problems since. I did put 26 gram Dr Pulley Sliders in it when I put the first drive belt on it.

I bought it from my sister in FL and it sat under a tarp for a little over two years. She tipped it over in her driveway and had to get a neighbor to help her pick it back up so she parked it. I bought it from her and trailered it back to MN. I ordered a new "cheap" battery off Ebay ( I figured that it the battery lasted the summer that would work and I'd buy a good battery that winter) and while waiting for that to come I hooked up jumper cables, without the truck running, from my pickup just to see if it would start. It had 1/2 tank of gas in it and after 3 or 4 turn overs it popped off and purred like a kitten with no smoke. All the lights worked too. I changed the drive belt, the oil and filter, put new tires on it, checked the brake pads plus a bunch of other TLC to it. I haven't had a problem with it since. It's a great bike!!

Thanks for the advice and welcome! I will definitely try the glazing trick. I’m looking forward to wrenching on and riding my Silver Wing.